One thing you can bet on during the holiday season is traditional holiday music blaring from the speakers of virtually every retail establishment you visit. However, this is going to change at the Chestnut Street Gap store in San Francisco. This particular Gap has partnered with music-streaming app Roqbot to allow customers the ability to choose the songs they want to hear while shopping in the store.
Customers at this Gap store in San Francisco will get to choose from Roqbot's six-million-song catalog and select the songs they want to hear using their smartphones. Shoppers can also vote on the different song choices available, which will impact the queued selections, says The Rolling Stone. The song queue may also change depending on the time of day and individual preferences -- for instance, the app may look at your previous Facebook favorites and your music library in your phone.
While this innovative music feature is currently available at the Chestnut Street Gap store in San Francisco for the holidays, depending on its success, there are plans to expand it to other locations across the United States in 2012.
Crowdsourced Shopping Playlists
Gap Store in San Francisco Lets Customers Choose In-Store Music
Trend Themes
1. Crowdsourced Music Selection - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create platforms that allow customers to choose the music played in retail stores, providing a more personalized shopping experience.
2. Mobile Voting and Personalization - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop apps that enable customers to vote on music choices and customize their in-store music experience based on individual preferences.
3. Integration of Technology in Retail - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Explore ways to seamlessly integrate technology, such as music-streaming apps, into brick-and-mortar stores to enhance the overall shopping experience.
Industry Implications
1. Retail - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Incorporate technology-driven features, like crowdsourced music playlists, into retail stores to attract and engage customers in a unique way.
2. Music Streaming - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Collaborate with retailers to offer music-streaming solutions tailored for in-store experiences, enabling customers to have more control over the audio ambiance.
3. Mobile Apps - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop mobile applications that facilitate interactive and personalized in-store experiences, such as voting on music choices and syncing with individual preferences.